2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: They perish because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. For this reason God sends them a powerful delusion so that they will believe the lie and so that all will be condemned who have not believed the truth but have delighted in wickedness (NIV).

What is “the lie” that people are so inclined to believe? It is the word first spoken to Eve in the garden—”you will be like God”. This one lie has led more men astray that any other in the history of mankind. Yet, we are all inclined to try to do things on our own, without God, at times. When we persist in the pursuit too long, God will give us our desire.

When we do what pleases us and try to accomplish selfish goals by human effort, we are continuing the lie. And, we are modeling for our kids what it means to exchange “the truth of God for a lie” (Rom 1:25). Pride trades God’s glory for Satan’s deception.

Paul was clear in his letters that only one type of boasting was legitimate—boasting in our weakness and the Lord’s strength. Let’s teach our kids that we are proud only of the Lord’s grace.

2 Thessalonians 1:11: With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may count you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may fulfill every good purpose of yours and every act prompted by your faith (NIV).

The apostle Paul knew that faith is the key to an obedient life. By faith, we are able to increase our love for one another and persevere in the midst of trials (2 Thes. 1:3-4). In this passage, he goes on to show us how faith is connected to power.

Faith allows us to receive God’s power to fulfill His purpose for our lives. It is like the battery charger on my laptop. If it is not plugged in, the battery will not recharge and my laptop will go dead in a short time. When I keep the power cord plugged in, the battery stays charged and I have the ability to work for long stretches.

When we rely on our own strength to do the right thing, we soon become frustrated as we reach the end of our human abilities, But when we glorify Jesus and yield to His will for our lives, we tap into a power that far exceeds our human will.

It has been awhile since I have posted anything on here. Beginning Jan. 01, 2014 I will start (ummm, let me rephrase that) TRY to start posting on here again. No one really keeps up with this blog anymore so not sure what to do. I have thought about deleting it and just keeping what I have on Facebook. Bu on the other hand, this could work out pretty good as some people have left FB for whatever reason. Hey, I’m open to suggestions.

For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so we can do the good things He planned for us long ago. (Ephesians 2:10 NLT)

GOD’S WORKMANSHIP

The Greek word for workmanship is poiema, from which we get our word “poem”. It is used also in Romans 1:20 where Paul explains that God’s eternal power and divine nature can be seen in nature, His poiema. Paul tells us that all of creation contains works of incredible art created by God to demonstrate and reflect His glory, and that our kids are part of the art show!

If God was willing to put that kind of love and care into creating our children and preparing a path for them to follow “for good works”, doesn’t it make sense that we should work to find God’s path for our kids and surrender any path we may have dreamed up without Him?